Damian.Cugley@prg.ox.ac.uk (Damian Cugley) (03/15/91)
It would be a really good idea if people who are asking questions or
discussing LaTeX were always to include the word "LaTeX" in the
"Subject:" line. More generally, since there are several specialized
software packacges associated with TeX, it would be a good idea to mark
your "Subject:" line with whatever package your message is specific to.
Compare
Subject: LaTeX - how to get doublespaced with single-spaced TOC?
with
Subject: thesis question
The former may well get replies from people who know how to do this in
LaTeX, giving solutions that work with LaTeX. The latter may well be
ignored by many people who would be able to answer the question because
amongst 100 or so messages per day or so anything that isn't obviously
interesting is usually ignored. It may also be read by non-LaTeX people
who will not know enough LaTeX to answer the question with authority, or
who may offer non-LaTeX TeX solutions, or who will be annoyed at having
been duped into reading a LaTeX-oriented question.
In other words, if you use a sensible "Subject:" line:
-- you will probably get better replies;
-- people who might be interested in your question are more likely to
read it; and
-- people who aren't interested are less likely to read it.
Everybody wins!!
//- Damian Cugley ---------------------------------------------------\
|| Oxford University Computing Laboratory, 11 Keble Rd, Oxford, UK ||
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